Electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, and smart phones connect to communication networks to send and/or receive data, e.g., files, web pages, streaming media, etc. Various communication networks exist. For example, local area networks (LANs) (including wireless LANs, “WLANs”) are available and conventionally have been utilized to connect to the Internet. Conventionally desktops and laptops connected to the Internet as a communication network, e.g., via a wireless access point that connects a laptop via a WLAN connection (also referred to as “Wi-Fi®” connection). Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance in the United States and other countries.
Smart phones, in addition to a WLAN capability, often include other communication capabilities. Among these is a wireless wide area network (WWAN) communication capability and short range wireless communication capabilities (e.g., BLUETOOTH wireless communication, near field communication, radio frequency identification (RFID) communication, etc.). BLUETOOTH is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc., in the United States and other countries.
Use of a smart phone or tablet device, i.e., a device capable of connecting to a WWAN, to act as a hotspot or tethering device is known. In this case, a first device capable of communicating, e.g., via a WWAN, such as a 4G telecommunications network, acts as a connection point through which another device (e.g., laptop personal computer, etc.) may send and receive data. This process is referred to as tethering, whereby a device such as a smart phone acts to tether another device, e.g., a laptop, to a network, e.g., a WWAN, facilitating network connectivity for the laptop via a network type with which it normally does not communicate. The tethering is accomplished by virtue of the smart phone connecting to the WWAN and in turn to the laptop, e.g., via a WLAN connection. The laptop can then send and receive data via the smart phone through the WWAN connection to the broader network.